The Maryland State Board of Education will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting Tuesday, December 2 and Wednesday, December 3, at the Maryland State Department of Education, 200 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore. The meeting will be held in the 7th floor Board Room. Both sessions will begin at 9 a.m. Items on this month's agenda include the following:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2

9:20 a.m. Action Item: Enrollment Committee Final Report
The State Board will hear the final report from the Enrollment Committee, formed by the Bridge to Excellence Act to study enrollment issues related to school finance. The committee, composed of local system officials, education stakeholder group representatives, and MSDE staff, will offer recommendations for the State Board to consider.

9:40 a.m. Action Item: Local Master Plans
The State Board will hear an overview of the Bridge to Excellence Master Plans, and will consider recommendations for final approval of the plans. The Bridge to Excellence Act required that all local school systems develop five-year master plans and submit them by Oct. 1. The department put the plans through a peer review process to determine if they had addressed required components and include goals and strategies to strengthen academic performance. The State Superintendent will make recommendations to the State Board on approval of the master plans.

11 a.m. High School Assessments
The State Board will discuss a conceptual framework that would revise the graduation requirements for the Maryland High School Diploma to include the High School Assessment for many students. Maryland has been moving toward this plan since 1993, and the assessments cover curriculum material required in each system by the Core Learning Goals, in place since 1996.

3:30 p.m. National Perspective on High School Exit Exams
Kati Haycock, executive director of the Education Trust, a Washington, DC-based organization focused on eliminating the achievement gap, will discuss high school assessments.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3

9:30 a.m. Geographic Cost of Education Index
The Bridge to Excellence Act required MSDE to contract with a private entity to develop a Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI) that would recognize the variations in costs that are beyond the control of local systems in different parts of Maryland. The State Board will hear an update on progress toward creating the GCEI.

9:50 a.m. Action Item: High School Assessments as a Graduation Requirement
The State Board is scheduled to direct MSDE staff to draft regulations, setting in place a framework requiring the class of 2009 pass Maryland's four High School Assessments in order to receive a Maryland High School Diploma. The proposal, which is scheduled to be discussed during Tuesday's session, also includes other routes to high school completion.